Lesson Topic: Scaffolding for future wiki and animation creation
Learning Area(s): HSIE/English
Unit Aim and Outcome: HSIE: ENS2.5 Describes places in the local area and other parts of Australia and explains their significance. Students will create a wiki in pairs after researching local and national areas of significance. Wiki will incorporate appropriate use of multimodal literacy, including knowledge of written and visual grammar, and description text type.
Lesson Outcome: Students will become familiar with the wikispaces site and how to use it. They will be able to create their own page and upload content including formatted text, visual images, audiovisual content and hyperlinks.
TS2.2 Interacts effectively in groups and pairs, adopting a range of roles, uses a variety of media and uses various listening strategies for different situations. ·works effectively in pairs, using negotiation and cooperation skills ·cooperates with a partner to use a computer resource together WS2.12 [Uses joined letters when writing in NSW Foundation Style and] demonstrates basic desktop publishing skills on the computer. ·uses WYSIWYG software to produce a web page ·uses text-to-film software to produce a short film
Resources: ·Computers with internet access – one for each two students ·Projector for teacher’s computer ·Bookmarks: wikispaces, youtube, xtranormal, teacher-created animation about wikis on xtranormal ·Whiteboard or blackboard and writing materials ·Digital camera ·Australia’s places books for additional research
Lesson Outline
Introduction (10 minutes): Elicit what the students already know about wikis – definition. Display the animation about wikis on the projector. Explain that the students will be creating their own wikis for their project on “My Australian Adventure” and that they will also be making their own animated movie like they just saw. In order to do this, they need to learn how to use the software. In this lesson we will jointly construct a wiki about our school, while everyone will be able to experiment with the resources to become familiar with them. This will move the students into the role of text analyst in order to create their own multimodal electronic texts, to create them for a purpose.
Teaching strategy/LearningActivity:
Students will ……
Teacher will…
Participate in asking questions about the wiki they are viewing. (5 minutes) Discuss quietly with a friend what 2-3 topics they would include in a wiki about their school. When they have decided, write their choices on the board. Whole class democratically decides on a few (4-6) pages to include. Observe the use of the wikispaces website on the projector for the creation of the first page. Contributes written content. After the first page has been created, a succession of individual students create the next pages on the teacher’s computer with the teacher providing support. Use the digital camera to take appropriate photographs for inclusion. Use copy-and-paste from the school website if necessary to provide textual or visual information. Explore the new wiki. Add something to at least one page.
Show the students an example of a wiki page and what is included. As them to think about what pages would be appropriate in a wiki about their class. Guide students to appropriate choices. Model the use of the resource, including explicit use of such things as cut-and-paste of text and images, formatting text, and inserting hyperlinks. Ensure every student has an opportunity to If the process takes too long, adjust the lesson to work with small groups for the creation of wiki pages while the remainder of the class experiment with xtranormal. Supervise for appropriate content.
Concluding strategy: Have the students explore the new wiki about the class. Discuss in their pairs what they would have done differently, and then ask the group what ideas they had. For each new idea ask the students how they would have achieved this difference. If they are unsure, show them! Get them to experiment with it. Probably the next time they use this will be when they are putting their own wikis together. Ask who explored xtranormal and what they discovered, share with the class. View any completed animations. Ask them to keep in mind that partners will be producing their own wiki and animation, so consider these options while they are doing their research.
Assessment: Summative assessment will be performed at the end of the unit using a rubric to assess the wiki pages produced. Formative assessment can be utilized in this lesson through teacher observation as follows: ·Did the students communicate effectively in pairs? Do any pairs require adjustment or separation? ·Was the computer time used effectively? Were they able to cooperate? ·Was each student able to understand the purpose of, and use, the software, both for wikispaces and xtranormal? If not, will they require extra support or assistance?
Any special considerations or contingency plans: ·Pairs must be allocated with consideration of particular needs, eg novice-expert pairings for ESL students or high achievers with low achievers. ·Ensure that partners both contribute and use the computer. ·Any students who finish experimenting with both websites and become disengaged can continue with researching Australian places.
Self-reflection ·Did the pairings work? ·Was the large-group format of the lesson appropriate, or did the students become disengaged and require separation into smaller groups? ·Was the teacher-produced animation appropriate? Was it simple enough to produce? ·Was the equipment adequate for the task?
HSIE: ENS2.5 Describes places in the local area and other parts of Australia and explains their significance.
Students will create a wiki in pairs after researching local and national areas of significance. Wiki will incorporate appropriate use of multimodal literacy, including knowledge of written and visual grammar, and description text type.
TS2.2 Interacts effectively in groups and pairs, adopting a range of roles, uses a variety of media and uses various listening strategies for different situations.
· works effectively in pairs, using negotiation and cooperation skills
· cooperates with a partner to use a computer resource together
WS2.12 [Uses joined letters when writing in NSW Foundation Style and] demonstrates basic desktop publishing skills on the computer.
· uses WYSIWYG software to produce a web page
· uses text-to-film software to produce a short film
· Computers with internet access – one for each two students
· Projector for teacher’s computer
· Bookmarks: wikispaces, youtube, xtranormal, teacher-created animation about wikis on xtranormal
· Whiteboard or blackboard and writing materials
· Digital camera
· Australia’s places books for additional research
Elicit what the students already know about wikis – definition.
Display the animation about wikis on the projector.
Explain that the students will be creating their own wikis for their project on “My Australian Adventure” and that they will also be making their own animated movie like they just saw. In order to do this, they need to learn how to use the software. In this lesson we will jointly construct a wiki about our school, while everyone will be able to experiment with the resources to become familiar with them. This will move the students into the role of text analyst in order to create their own multimodal electronic texts, to create them for a purpose.
Participate in asking questions about the wiki they are viewing.
(5 minutes) Discuss quietly with a friend what 2-3 topics they would include in a wiki about their school. When they have decided, write their choices on the board. Whole class democratically decides on a few (4-6) pages to include.
Observe the use of the wikispaces website on the projector for the creation of the first page. Contributes written content. After the first page has been created, a succession of individual students create the next pages on the teacher’s computer with the teacher providing support.
Use the digital camera to take appropriate photographs for inclusion. Use copy-and-paste from the school website if necessary to provide textual or visual information.
Explore the new wiki. Add something to at least one page.
Show the students an example of a wiki page and what is included. As them to think about what pages would be appropriate in a wiki about their class. Guide students to appropriate choices.
Model the use of the resource, including explicit use of such things as cut-and-paste of text and images, formatting text, and inserting hyperlinks. Ensure every student has an opportunity to
If the process takes too long, adjust the lesson to work with small groups for the creation of wiki pages while the remainder of the class experiment with xtranormal.
Supervise for appropriate content.
Have the students explore the new wiki about the class. Discuss in their pairs what they would have done differently, and then ask the group what ideas they had. For each new idea ask the students how they would have achieved this difference. If they are unsure, show them! Get them to experiment with it. Probably the next time they use this will be when they are putting their own wikis together.
Ask who explored xtranormal and what they discovered, share with the class. View any completed animations.
Ask them to keep in mind that partners will be producing their own wiki and animation, so consider these options while they are doing their research.
Summative assessment will be performed at the end of the unit using a rubric to assess the wiki pages produced. Formative assessment can be utilized in this lesson through teacher observation as follows:
· Did the students communicate effectively in pairs? Do any pairs require adjustment or separation?
· Was the computer time used effectively? Were they able to cooperate?
· Was each student able to understand the purpose of, and use, the software, both for wikispaces and xtranormal? If not, will they require extra support or assistance?
· Pairs must be allocated with consideration of particular needs, eg novice-expert pairings for ESL students or high achievers with low achievers.
· Ensure that partners both contribute and use the computer.
· Any students who finish experimenting with both websites and become disengaged can continue with researching Australian places.
· Did the pairings work?
· Was the large-group format of the lesson appropriate, or did the students become disengaged and require separation into smaller groups?
· Was the teacher-produced animation appropriate? Was it simple enough to produce?
· Was the equipment adequate for the task?